Miette Hoshikarasu
by Alice-ame
Summary: All her life, Miette has lived in a forest. She was taught by Itachi Uchiha, even though he was the reason why she had no family. But, on the day her sensei dies, she begins to finally step into the real world - the real ninja world outside of the forest. KakashixOC
1. Prolouge

_~ Prologue _

_Once upon a time, there was a clan called the Uchiha clan…of course, you know the story. A boy who spied on his blood against his will, killed his family, and left as an outcast, a villain. Only his little brother survived, and soon in time he was grown to hate and hate his brother more and more. They meet a many times over the years, only for Sasuke to suffer more and more with the bitter disappointment he is not a match for his older brother. Then, years later, they meet and fight to the death. Itachi dies misunderstood and Sasuke inherits his brother's overwhelming power, but is drained of all his strength. Itachi wasn't trying to kill him though, he'd fought someone before his duel with his brother. Sasuke learns the bitter truth later, from the mysterious masked Tobi. Tobi uses Sasuke's anger and quick thinking to earn himself the 'Taka', a group who used to be the 'Hebi'. Their goal is to crush Konoha. But it is all just a big misunderstanding on Sasuke's part…and in Konoha, no one is suspecting what is to come… _

_But when Itachi Uchiha died, his secrets were revealed to his younger brother, Sasuke, by Tobi. But Tobi didn't know everything about Itachi. There was one secret that only Itachi Uchiha knew about, one secret he never told anyone. Of course, there was one other person that knew, but only one. And this is the story of that one person…the one person who is the secret itself, and how the secret is revealed…_


	2. Chapter 1

_Chapter One _Miette

She watched quietly in horror from atop the rock, her fingers clenched so tightly on the hard stone that they'd gone numb. But she didn't notice – everything about her was numb anyways – her face was numb to the rain dripping down the sides of her cheek, her legs were numb from standing for so long, and her heart…her heart had seemed to stop beating.

Down below, Itachi's head hit against the rock, and he slid down to the ground. His eyes were still open, but like everything else about him, they were still. Deathly still. Miette choked on a gasp, and her body became even tenser as Sasuke fell to the ground, lying beside his brother. Sasuke lay still too, but it was a different kind of still from his brother.

Miette flew from her rock down to Itachi's side, knowing that Sasuke was in no state to do anything to her. He wasn't even conscious. Miette fell to her knees at Itachi's body, her eyes searching through his, frantically. She let out a breath as her body began to shake uncontrollably. Then, she let everything out – her tears came out so fast and hard she found it hard to breathe, and soon she was choking on her tears herself.

_Gasp. Cry. Gasp. Cry. _

It became a rhythm that she fell into, working in despairing harmony with the desolate beat. Her throat burned, but her heart was worse – it felt as if a thousand years of burden and sorry had come crashing in it. It was so heavy. So hard to breathe.

"T…t…tt…teacher." Miette whispered, as her tears blurred her vision.

Another shock went through her body, and she began shaking compulsively again. Then, she felt something stirring. Her eyes, still wet with tears fell upon Sasuke, but he was no different.

_Akatsuki! Miette thought. _

She whipped her head around, but no one was here, and the strange two-faced tree man was gone before he'd seen her, too. And then Miette realized that she had been holding Itachi's hand…his fingers, barely, just barely, but they were…they were gripping back with the little energy left inside.

"Itachi-sensei!" she gasped, her eyes widening.

His eyes found her face, blurred as it was with his Mangekyou Sharigan. He smiled the smallest smile; you couldn't even tell it was one. It was more of a dying grimace. His lips parted slightly, and you could see he had difficulty doing this too.

"Miette. You…shouldn't…have…come…" he said, his voice hoarse and pained, and barely audible.

"Teacher, be quiet. Let me transfer my chakra, I have a-"

Itachi's eyes smiled with sorrow, and he said a single word. They both knew it was impossible to save him, and this was what Itachi wanted.

"He….he is…very strong…" Itachi muttered, smiling.

Miette did not look over at Sasuke, but hung her head down.

"Stronger…he will…be…"

"Ssshh, teacher. You have done what you wanted." Miette said, her tears still falling with the rain.

Itachi's eyes twinkled, and his grip on Miette's hand slackened.

"The place…you must…bring…me…there…place…"

Miette nodded furiously, "Yes, I know teacher. I will."

"Sasuke…don't tell...hate…me…"

"I know, teacher. He will be stronger with the hate inside of him, and defeat Madara."

Itachi looked into Miette's eyes, and he was quiet. She knew it all; he didn't have to talk anymore. He had taught her well, and she would survive. His time was done here.

"Miette…you're strong...taught you…well…"

"I will not disappoint you, t-tt-teacher." Miette said, trying not to break down again.

"I…I know…I knew…from…the beginning…you…weren't…" Itachi said.

He paused, and gave a small sigh. Itachi Uchiha smiled for the last time, then looked up to the skies before slowly closing his eyes forever. At that moment, everything inside of Miette broke, just snapped. Her little body shook as she rocked back and forth. The tears were salty in her mouth, bittersweet and full of pain. She stood up slowly, scooping up Itachi in her arms as she took a few deep breaths. His body was already very light, as if all the years of suffering and burden that he'd been carrying on his back had left with his soul. A last glance at Sasuke, and then she was gone.

She buried him at the place he told her, as secret covering in the forest by the old Uchiha clan's place. Miette did it all by hand, and when she was done, she was covered in tears, dirt, and Itachi's blood. In front of the large tree, she could imagine the stories that Itachi told her about when he used to play with his brother. It was tag, but Itachi loved to use Shadow Clone Jutsu to win just when Sasuke found him.

Miette collapsed to the ground, crying as flashbacks from the fight earlier played through her mind. Fighting it, she struggled to her feet, wiping away the tears hastily. She placed a flower on the mound of dirt – Itachi hadn't wanted a headstone. The blood lily, white with streaks of red lay on its side.

New flashbacks played through Miette's mind now – how Itachi and her first met, their lessons, and their last good-bye, before today.

"Thank you, Itachi-sensei. Thank you for being my teacher."


	3. Chapter 2

_Chapter Two ~Miette~ _

_It was a cold night. Dark. Miette tried not to hear the screams that pierced the air as she ran though the forest. She dodged branches, hopped over rocks, but he was still behind her, and he was gaining. Fast. She dared not look behind, afraid he would use his Sharingan to distract her. He tried to stop her by sending a few jutsus after her, but Miette dodged them. _

_You're going to lose, just stop now. A voice inside her head said to herself. _

"_NO!" she screamed aloud, choking back a sob. _

_But the tears still came, streaming down the side of her small face. _

_It was true; he was older by seven years, and much more experienced. And he had his Sharingan. She was too little, too inexperienced, and weak. She barely knew any jutsus, and she was tiring now. Miette wished she was powerful, and older, to stand back to fight him. Or, if she could just do an Animal Transformation Justu…just fly away as a bird. But, that was decades beyond her knowledge and capability. _

_Then, he caught up to her. The yells of the villagers died down in her ears, replaced by the irregular drumming of her heart. They were all dying now…it was just her left. He seized her roughly by the shoulders, and Miette tried to raise her arms up to protect her from whatever was coming next. His grip was iron, though, so her arms couldn't budge._

_Itachi Uchiha laughed at the childish attempt. But, she was only five. What had he expected? A Shadow Clone Justu? _

"_Do it, quickly." She said, her voice shaking as she looked down to the ground, her hot tears spilling into the dirt. _

"_You are good for a five year old…you have good potential. The kids your age can't even charge their chakra." He said, his eyes smiling, but his face not. _

"_JUST DO IT ALREADY! KILL ME! KILL ME LIKE YOU AND MADARA DID TO EVERYONE ELSE!" she screamed as more tears came out. _

_Miette could sense the tight smile vanishing from Itachi's eyes as his fingers tightened. The atmosphere tensed, and she knew what was coming. She relaxed, but her heart beat even faster. _

_It's not going to hurt a lot, she said to herself, it'll be over before you know it. _

"_No." Itachi whispered, almost inaudible, like he was talking to himself. _

"_W-what?" Miette stammered as she looked up at him. _

_His face was unreadable, as blank as a piece of paper that had not been written on. _

"_You will learn in time." he said, a twinge of pity in his hard voice; and then the coldness was back, as he gripped her shoulders so tight they hurt. _

"_Run." Itachi said as he let go, shoving her forward. _

_Miette stumbled, but did not fall. She didn't look back, didn't stop, no matter how much she wanted to stay and demand to know how she could be spared, but not the rest. She ran faster and faster, trying to drown out the yells of agony, trying to push away the despair and desolation that clung to her, putting the dying calls out of her head…and putting her clan, far, far behind her… _


	4. Chapter 3

_Chapter Three_ Miette

Miette awoke in the morning to a pale ray of sun peeking through the canopy of mangled tree branches and leaves. She sat up, slumping to relax the cramps and sores all over her body. As she wiped away the sleepiness from her eyes, her fingers brushed against dried streams of tears.

Her eyes stung again, but she pushed it back, only allowing a small tear before she wiped it away roughly. Standing up over Itachi's grave, she let her head hang down, too tired to look up.

A breeze wafted by, tugging at her mussed-up, dirty hair. It tickled her nose, and she gave a sniff as the tears broke through her dam of willpower. But, this time, they were silent small things, drops of misery, unlike yesterday's torrents of anguish and despair. Despair. She was feeling that a lot in just two days.

"Thank you for everything, Itachi-sensei," Miette paused, her words strange against the quietness of the woods, then took a deep breath as she let all her words flow out.

"You taught me everything I needed to know to survive in this world, and much more. You were an amazing teacher, and an even better ninja and person, deep inside. I know you want to die, and stay dead, as an evil man…but if everyone could know what you did for Sasuke, and for everyone, how you sacrificed everything – they would come to respect and love you as I do. But, you wanted to keep them safe, so you must be…misunderstood. I will know the true Itachi Uchiha, though."

"I don't know where I will go now; perhaps I will go kill some of the Akatsuki…or even try to find a village that will accept me. Or maybe I will just be a rogue – except I never had a headband for me to draw a line through the middle."

Miette laughed bitterly.

"I'll come back to visit sometime, depending on how things go. I wish I could show Sasuke your grave after things settle down, but I know I promised you already that I wouldn't tell him what you did for him…so he could be powerful with all the hate.

A blurry image of Sasuke lying unconscious down on the ground beside his elder brother yesterday, his eyes open but unseeing as the rain poured down. Then, the breeze came back again, this time pulling at her sleeve that she'd torn yesterday digging Itachi's grave. It was time to go.

"Good bye, Itachi-sensei, for now. But…you never told me what I wasn't, sensei. You never got to tell me why you didn't kill me that night. " She said, then walked away slowly.

It was dawn, and that was somewhat ironic, Miette realized. Akatsuki was Japanese for dawn. Miette walked for hours, not stopping once. At a river, she washed the dirt, blood, and tears away from her skin scrubbing hard. When she was done, she felt tired, but not from the washing.

"What am I going to do now?" Miette asked the air.

She lay down on the top of a grassy hill, looking up to the dim blue sky with tufts of white. Her eyes closed, though she extended her mind out all around her, cautiously feeling around for the presence of any ninja by sensing their chakra. Miette stayed like this for a long time, half-aware of her surroundings, and half-asleep.

**Well, what do you think? I know that these chapter are a bit boring and angsty and sad, but please hold on a little longer. There's going to be a lot of drama and action when Miette meets some Leaf Ninja. Please let me know what you think about my story by posting reviews. It's okay if they're anon. **


	5. Chapter 4

_Chapter Four ~Miette ~ _

_She stayed in the forest for a long time, hiding in the trees. She was too tired to run anymore. For days and nights, she just walked around, or simply sat in the trees, in a spellbound state of shock. _

_Itachi Uchiha's words pounded through her head echoed by the screams of her clan. How could he and Madara do that? Why had Itachi let her escape? What had he meant? Question trailed after question through her mind, and she could never seem to stop thinking – or feeling. Her heart felt so heavy, it hurt to breathe, walk, and even just live. But, she had to, she just felt needed. _

_For days, Miette didn't eat or leave the forest. She hid away from strangers that walked through, and was never seen. It was the third day when the hunger began to finally take its toll. Her stomach felt like it was ripping apart, and she was so famished, she could barely see. Her vision was hazy and everything in the forest was blurred. Dehydration made her feverish, and hallucinate often. Miette didn't remember how she came to the stream, only recovering bits here and there, dropping out of a tree, and crawling, pulling herself slowly and painfully across the ground. _

_The stream was small, but it had enough water for her to drink. It was sweet and cool, but her head still throbbed horribly. It was a few days after when she woke up, and the headache was gone. Afterwards, she forced herself to catch fish, and with the fish, her strength came back, ounce by ounce, gradually and painfully, but nonetheless. _

_Then, for two years, she lived off fish and some game that she found in the forest. She slept high up in trees, never venturing out of the forest. She never spoke to anyone, always hiding when a person walked by. Time and time again, there would be a few rare teachers with their students that stopped in the forest to practice. Often times, Miette didn't understand how to do the things they did – but sometimes she did. It was usually with the younger students, which Miette reckoned to be about her age. _

_She would watch them carefully, then after they left, she would try it out for herself. She did this after watching other small children practiced by themselves in the forest, too. As she grew older, her knowledge expanded, and she learned from the passerby ninjas. _

_One day, when she was wandering around the forest, she stumbled upon a clearing enclosed by dark trees. What she saw stopped her heart. It froze her feet to the ground, she couldn't run, and it felt like someone had knocked all the air out of her with a Rasengan._

_It was Itachi Uchiha. He stood taller than two years ago on that dreaded night, and this time, even more intimidating. Itachi wore a black cloak with red swirls and a high, circular collar that covered his mouth – the Akatsuki uniform. _

"_Akatsuki!" Miette gasped, whipping her head around, searching for the other cloaked ninjas that might be hiding behind the trees. _

_Itachi laughed darkly, striding up to Miette in just a few easy steps. Miette's heart pounded, and she wanted to run, but she couldn't. She couldn't do anything; she was as useless as a rag doll, and just about as functional. _

"_It's the little girl from the village. You still look scrawny and small."_

_Miette couldn't speak. Then, a quick instinct took over her. Her fingers twisted and folded as she whispered three words. She appeared behind him, and whipped out a kunai._

_But Itachi stopped her. He surrounded her with thousands of his clones, and one of them behind her snatched away her kunai. Immediately, the clones dissipated and the true Itachi stood in front of Miette, twirling around her kunai in his left hand. _

"_Shadow Clone Jutsu? You performed it well for your age…you are eight?" Itachi asked, nonchalant. _

"_Seven." Miette growled, and then leapt at him with balled fists. _

_Itachi smiled, and she crashed into the ground. When she struggled up to her feet, she saw him up high in a tree. She snarled at him. But he only laughed and jumped back down in front of her. _

"_Ah, so you have two more years before you graduate. But, that is still very good…it's a basic jutsu, I suppose…but essential, very essential." Itachi said, smiling, "How do you like the Academy?" _

"_Academy?" Miette asked, the strange question knocking her off guard. _

_Then, she realized that Itachi had thought she'd been living in the Leaf Village, after the massacre. _

"_I don't belong in any village, and I'm not an Academy student." She said, trying not to let the pride show. _

_At seven years old and with no proper training whatsoever, she was pretty good. Everything that Miette had learned she'd taught herself, both from watching other Academy students back in her village and the passing ninja in the forest for the last two years. _

_She knew a few of the basic jutsu: Shadow Clone, Substitution, and Transformation, and their little feeder jutsu, like Sexy Jutsu. She didn't like Sexy Jutsu, though – Miette tried to do it as scarce as possible, only to make sure that she did not forget how to do it. _

"_Oh?" Itachi asked, trying to sound pleasantly surprised – but Miette could tell that he'd been knocked off guard by her answer as much as she had been by his question. _

"_I thought you'd stay in the Leaf…but I guess that's why they say he's the only one left besides me now…" Itachi was quiet, and his eyes left her face as he scanned the trees._

"_What?" Miette asked him, frowning. _

_Who was Itachi talking about? And what was this person the last thing of? _

"_You've been doing a good job hiding." Itachi said, brushing off her question. _

_Miette decided to let it go. Itachi was a strange and dangerous person, and she found herself disgusted that she was talking to him. Screams echoed in her head from that night two years ago. She closed her eyes and shook her head feebly, trying to shake away the yells of horror. _

"_Remembering, aren't you? Oh, yes, of course you will never forget that night. I'm such an evil person, can I even be human? That's what you think, isn't it, little girl? You wish you were older, and stronger, so you could kill me yourself, is that right?" Itachi asked, his eyes glinting with malice. _

_Miette held her breath. All of a sudden his voice had turned from lazy and nonchalant to downright cold, and he looked just as he had that night. Miette was expecting him to lash out any minute now, to feel a sharp pain somewhere and see her blood spill in front of her. But, that didn't happen. Instead, Itachi sighed like an old man and sat down on a rock. A look of grievance and something else that Miette couldn't decipher washed over his face. _

_Just a moment ago, his voice had been cold and bloodthirsty – every word he'd spoken was true. His eyes had been filled with an evil gleam, and selfishness, but now, they were filled with hurt and angst. It was as if Itachi was two different people in one body. _

"_I never meant to kill them."Itachi said to no one in particular, still staring at the ground. _

"_They made me…and if I didn't, everything would be all blood and war. Everything would be just killing, killing, and killing, and they would have wiped all of out anyways. We would have been greatly outnumbered against the rest of them." _

_Miette's head hurt. Just the sight of Itachi made her sick, and she was feeling lightheaded form all the fear rising in herself. Her heart felt as if someone had taken it and was squeezing the breath out of it. Itachi had killed her entire village, and now, was he being…regretful? His voice had sounded so pained, as if he was trying to talk with a kunai pierced in the middle of his throat. Or maybe he was trying to trick her – pretend that he was feeling sorry for his sins so she would comfort him. He could take her off guard and kill her, then. Whatever it was, it didn't even make sense, though. _

_There was only silence between them for a minute, until Itachi looked up. _

"_How many clones can you produce?" he asked her, curiously. _

_Miette's eyes narrowed, and she glared at him. _

_What was Itachi getting at? Was he trying to be friendly again? Or did he want to drain her of all her chakra and then kill her? _

_Whatever it was, Miette didn't know, so she kept quiet and stared at the ground. Maybe Itachi would leave then; he surely had more important things to do than talk to seven-year old girls. _

_I promise, I'm not going to kill you. If I wanted to, I would have done it…two years ago." _

_Miette looked up at Itachi, tilting her head slightly to the side in a thoughtful way._

"_I'll tell you if you tell me why you didn't kill me. I'm old enough to know now." Miette said, trying to sound brave with her compromise. _

_Itachi smiled, "Hmph. You have a lot of spirit for a little girl. No, I told you that you will find out when the time is right. Now, tell me, how many clones can you make?" _

_Miette frowned at him, but did not speak as she crossed her arms. _

_Itachi laughed, then stood up. Something inside of Miette fluttered. She was half-glad that he was leaving, but she also wanted to make him stay and tell her about why he didn't kill her. Living in a forest alone was a miserable ordeal – she'd never talked to anyone for two years until now. _

"_Here's my deal, then. You show me what you can do, and I'll teach you some more jutsu techiniques." Itachi offered. _

_Miette's eyes widened in response._

_Was he being nice to her? Itachi Uchiha…being nice? To her? They didn't even know each other, and he was offering to teach her?! _

_Miette hesitated, thinking about the risks. There were too many. But, she needed to learn more things. Miette knew there'd be a day when had to leave the forest, and when that day came, her abilities had to be more than just reproducing basic clones and transformation in order for her to survive in the real world. And she wanted to so bad; Miette wanted very badly to learn new things. It was all she did in her free time, and she was getting bored of practicing the same things over and over again. _

"_Why are you being nice?" she asked him, warily. _

_This was not something a killer would do, at all. But, Itachi just gave her a sad smile. He laid a hand on her shoulder, and she almost jumped back in shock. Miette half-expected a fire to ignite on her shoulder, or have her arm fall off, but that didn't happen. _

"_You remind me vaguely of someone." He said, and Miette realized, with a pang, he was talking about his brother, Sasuke. _

_The two brothers had been inseparable; everyone in the clan knew that. Sasuke looked up to his brother more than anyone else, and it was obvious to see that the two shared a love stronger than any ordinary sibling bond. _

"_Fine." Miette said, sighing. _

_She stepped back from him, and concentrated. Three seconds was all it took, and soon Itachi was surrounded by a hundred clones. He looked impressed, smiling. _

"_What else can you do besides clones?" _

_The clones disappeared, each popping into clouds of dust. Miette showed him all her transformations and substitutions – a log, a rock, and so on. When she was done, five minutes later, Miette was exhausted. She fell down to the ground, crossing her legs in a sitting position as she breathed heavily. _

_Itachi squatted down in front of her, still looking interested. _

"_You're very good at these basic techniques, having taught yourself everything. I'm very surprised that you've mastered all of them, all by yourself in just two years." _

_Miette smiled faintly, then looked up at Itachi as he stood up, towering over her. The intimidation was back, but what he said next blew her mind like nothing else. _

"_I think you'd make an excellent student. From now one, you can call me Itachi-sensei." _


	6. Chapter 5

_Chapter Five_ Tobi

Tobi hung back behind the group, smiling as he heard Sasuke rename the Hebi, and their one goal. He smiled, but something in the back of his mind still bothered him.

"It's nothing." He whispered to himself.

Itachi's body not being there meant nothing…probably it had been Kisame's work or someone who'd respected the elder Uchiha brother. He'd found it anyways, and taken what he needed.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter Six _~Miette ~ _

_Itachi taught her for three years. Miette being the fast learner that she was, knew how to do many complicated jutsus by the time Itachi was done. She'd learned chidori, and perfected it. There were numerous genjutsu techniques she'd mastered, as well as taijutsu._

_Three years was how long they spent time together in that forest. They decided to part ways after Itachi's illness began developing. Miette knew all about Sasuke and Itachi's relationship by then, and she was the only one who knew of Itachi's true plans. She learned about Madara-Tobi-Obito, too. And, she learned to love the man that she'd once feared, the one that had taken her home away from her. But then again, Miette had hated her home. Itachi had taken away her clan, she realized. But there was a reason behind it, and the reason was even worse than the loss. _

_It was a cold autumn morning when they decided it was time to part. Leave twirled around in lazy circles in the air, suspended by fall drafts. Itachi and Miette stood far apart, looking at each other. _

"_I've taught you well. You know everything that I do, except for the Sharingan. You'll survive." Itachi said. _

_Miette nodded, and smiled. It was a lie – he hadn't taught her everything, and frankly, she wouldn't have been able to learn everything that he knew. There were a lot of dark, evil jutsus, too, the ones full of pain. Miette didn't need those, though. _

"_You've been a great teacher, Itachi-sensei. I hope all goes well." Miette said, and Itachi smiled sadly. _

"_Good bye, Miette. Don't forget." Itachi said, and Miette gave a curt nod. _

_Itachi raised his right hand up in a half-salute, half-wave. A curt nod was all Miette saw as a storm of leaves flew by her teacher, and when it passed, he was gone. _

_They never met again, until five years later, when Miette was fifteen. That day, Miette knew it was going to happen, and she watched it all. That day, she watched Itachi let Sasuke kill him. _

_But neither teacher nor student knew that there'd be a flaw in the plan. _

**I hope you like the story so far! It's kind of dragging right now, with Itachi's death and grief and whatnot. I promise that there's going to be some action rising, however, you'll have to wait a chapter or two before there's any real fighting. I'd love to hear about what you think, though! It's okay if you review as anon. **


	8. Chapter 7

_Chapter Seven _Zetsu

I breathed softly, my legs dangling in the open air. There was no one around, as usual. All the ninja in the Leaf were on missions, or helping around in the village with the small Akatsuki attacks and raids here and there.

A small breeze wafted by, entangling my loose bangs and playing around with the bottom of my shirt. I frowned, as I heard a strange rippling kind of sound, but not like water – more like something hard and chewy. It was very weird, but I was on my guard nonetheless.

Nimbly, I swung my legs up quietly and leapt up a branch higher, folding my legs together as I sat in a crouched position. The leaves concealed me, but the ground was only about twenty or twenty-five feet below me. That was not a lot of distance, ninja-wise.

_Distance is important when you're facing another ninja, no matter if you're predator or prey, _I thought to myself.

Then I winced, realizing that those were Itachi-sensei's words. I uneasily brushed the cold dreaded feeling of his death aside, focusing on the matter.

I peered down through the branches and leaves, looking around. There was no one, and all was still. Then, I watched in confusion as the center of a tree trunk began to split apart in the center. A face formed inside of a tree trunk at first, long and bony with a wide jaw, harsh eyes, and a cruel-looking mouth. As the details grew, the figure became more complete along with an upper body, arms, and legs. A white _thing _stepped out of the tree slowly, detaching itself like some sticky matter away from the trunk.

_That thing…it seems like it teleported from somewhere else to here, but it used that tree as a way to get here. _

"Aaahhhh…" the white thing said as it stretched its arms.

I didn't like the look of it, right away. This white thing, it was tugging at the back of my mind, like I'd seen it before, but I couldn't remember when. Then, it hit me. The black and white face monster with the aloe vera-cactus body that had been watching Itachi and Sasuke fight. But, this thing was all white, and it didn't have an aloe vera body. I noticed spikes protruding from the sides of its body, however. I wondered if that thing was fleshy, like a person. It looked more like something made of stone, though.

_White Zetsu, _I thought to myself. Itachi-sensei had told me about these things. They were weak, but could transport from place to place by submerging through the earth and trees.

"I know you're there, up in the tree." A sickly sweet voice, but somewhat raspy voice called out to me from below.

My eyes widened in shock, and I muffled a gasp. That thing had detected me.

"Come on out and playyy," he cooed, walking under the tree and looking up at me, "Don't be afraid, White Zetsu likes to play."

He gave a horrific grin, but this was no time to be hiding. I faked hesitation, then without warning I leapt down from the tree, straight at the Zetsu with a kunai in each hand. Of course, he dodged, jolting to the side. I landed lightly on my feet, spinning around to throw the two kunai and a shruiken that I'd whipped out from my pouch.

White Zetsu dodged the two kunai, but the shruiken caught him right at where his right arm connected with his chest. He yanked it out swiftly, but there was no blood. The monster gave another one of his revolting smiles as he stepped jumped forward.

"Leaf Whirlwind Jutsu!" I yelled, then allowed myself to be swept up into the rhythm of the taijutsu.

When I was done, Zetsu was lying on the ground, all dirty and he looked hurt – _but there was still no blood. _He looked up at me, and I glared back at his freakish grin.

"What do you want?" I demanded, throwing a kunai at his leg.

"Ouch," he said, simply like that, and as if it didn't hurt at all, "I'm White Zetsu."

"I know what you are." I said, my hands tightening into fists at my ignored question.

"Well, there's one other thing you should know about me, then, little ninja girl."

"What?" I snapped back at him, two shruiken appearing in my hand as he paused and the gleam in his eyes grew even more wicked.

"There's too many of me."

I narrowed my eyes, peering at him quizzically. What did White Zetsu mean by this? Was he going to call on more Akatsuki members to come fight me?

_No, don't be silly, Miette. _I thought to myself. None of the Akatsuki would bother with me. Not unless they wanted to know something about Itachi, or his dead self anyways.

"What do you mean?" I asked, holding the shruiken poised for attack, and a few jutsus in mind.

Instead of answering, though, Zetsu just laughed a horrible cold, empty laugh. It might have been scary, but at the moment I was more angry and fed up with his strange antics than scared of this monster.

"I have a lot of friends. We haven't had much fun in a while, so I thought it'd be nice to invite them along…" he said, his cheesy wicked smile still plastered on his white face.

Suddenly, I felt small rumbles from beneath my feet. Not like an earthquake, but like the roots of a tree, growing upwards. I watched in shock as numerous identical white heads popped out of the ground, arms pulling themselves out. Bodies with long, sharp spikes attached to the sides of their ribs crawled out from the ground that I stood on. And soon, there were about fifty Zetsu around me, and I was trapped in a circle.

So that was what the first Zetsu had meant when he said, "There's too many of me."

_Gods, how am I going to get out of this? _I wondered, panic flitting across my face. The first Zetsu hadn't even showed much pain after I'd used Leaf Whirlwind on him. How was I going to face fifty of them? How did you even kill these White Zetsus? I wish I'd asked Itachi; he would have known, as he'd been part of the Akatsuki himself.

Itachi. It still hurt, like an open wound. And I knew, deep inside, it would be a wound that would never heal, no matter how many times I'd try to forget.

"What is your name little ninja girl?" A white Zetsu called out sweetly.

I glared at him, and threw the two shruiken in my hands at his face. They marked their spot – right in his two eyes. The Zetsu screeched and flailed his arms around helplessly before collapsing to the ground convulsed. I could feel the tension growing as the other Zetsu turned from him to face me.

_I must not show fear. _I told myself, biting my lip as I found two kunai to replace the shruiken that were lodged into the Zetsu's eye sockets.

Suddenly, I felt it before it came. I braced myself for the Zetsus' attack, as they ran in towards me. Five Zetsu flew at me, and I substituted a log in my place as I shot up into the air.

I landed in a tree, and then realized that there were Zetsus coming out of the branches.

"Damn it!" I yelled, remembering their ability to transport.

"You can run, little girl, but we will catch you in the end!" A Zetsu hollered up to me as I flew through the air to another tree, just barely avoiding various white hands reaching for my ankles.

I didn't have time to stand still; I was constantly in the air, or hopping around in the trees, leaping from branch to branch. The only time my feet ever touched the ground was when I felt that there were too many Zetsus in the trees. If I got down to the ground, a few would follow me, but I used it as a distraction to find an open spot up high.

I did numerous jutsus while at it, mostly fireball and small chidori. It was hard to tell if the Zetsu felt any pain, but some of them died. There were still many left, though, and they were all equally aggressive and persistent. I wished I had more weapons – I only had six shruiken and four kunai left in my pouch in the back of my pants.

My chakra had gotten to a point where I could feel that it was draining, slowly. I had no time to charge, however, I was just so busy keeping the Zetsu away from me. Sure, they had no special abilities, but their transportation skill, slight strength, and relentlessness were enough to keep me fully occupied. Their numbers were vast, too, though I'd managed to eliminate about twenty. Without a choice, I decided to use only taijutsu, preserving my chakra for a more dire situation that might appear later on.

"What fun we're having!" A Zetsu shrieked as it flew at me from my right.

Instinctively, I didn't run, since it was so close. Instead, I swung at its gut, then did an uppercut to his jaw. As the Zetsu doubled over, clutching his stomach, I chopped his neck. But when he stood up, he just cracked it back again, looking only a bit pained.

"We can play forever, but _you _can't." the Zetsu crowed and I swung at him, knocking him off the branch that we were standing on.

I had no time to see what happened to him as more Zetsu were closing in on me and I leapt to find another tree. But on the next tree, there were even more Zetsu, and it seemed like they were all following after me at the exact same pace and speed. Earlier, they'd all been scattered. Now, about twenty of them were hot on my eels, while ten hung around on different trees. They were trying harder to get me.

I frowned a little, puzzling over this new realization. Or, maybe I just hadn't noticed it earlier. And that was when I made a crucial mistake.

I landed on the ground, and was about to leap up again when twenty Zetsu leaped down on me. I almost did a Transformation, but a Zetsu landed on top of me, knocking me down to the ground. I elbowed him, but he held firmly, pinning me to the ground with my arms behind my back in an awkward and painful position.

"Shit." I whispered, as I realized that I couldn't do anything with my hands like this.

The Zetsu holding my arms behind my back was crouched next to me, and I felt another Zetsu place his foot on my back. Ropes were tied around my feet, and my arms, despite my thrashing and kicking. It was really bad now.

"Let. Go. Of. Me." I snarled in little angry fragments, and disgusted that I was still lying on the ground.

"Sorry, little ninja girl. Even though we've got you all tied up, there's no guarantee that you'll stay that way. Don't worry though, we're going to take you somewhere really nice. But, before that, we're going to have some fun with-"

That was the last thing he said before a kunai flew straight through him, piercing him in the chest. I gaped as the Zetsu fell back, looking around for whoever had thrown that kunai. And then, up high in a Zetsu-less tree, I saw four white-cloaked figures. One was a blonde with a funny face in an orange jumpsuit thing, but there was also a pale guy with sleek black hair, and another boy…with a big dog. The fourth was the tallest, and he was older with white-gray hair, but not the kind that old people have. He had his headband crooked, hiding his right eye.

"You're going to have some fun with us!" exclaimed the boy with the giant dog said, and then everything broke into complete chaos.

Half of the Zetsu crowded around me lunged at me, but I had gotten the rope from my legs free and gotten up. I did numerous roundhouse kicks while still trying to get the rope on my hands off. All around me, it was about five Zetsu for each of the mysterious white-cloaked guys, while I had ten.

From the corner of my eye, I saw sparks of lighting fly amongst startled screams and yelps. The large dog and the boy bounded after Zetsus, and it seemed like they were working together.

"Rasengan!" I heard someone shout, and I found the funny-looking blonde slamming a ball of blue electricity through a Zetsu.

My eyes widened at the energy; Rasengan was the signature technique of the Nine Tails Jinjuriki, Naruto Uzumaki, who'd also happened to be a blonde. All this I'd learned from Itachi-sensei. That meant…these guys were from the Leaf Village. And that boy…that boy was Naruto Uzumaki. The Nine Tails Jinjuriki.

I was brought out of my shock sharply as I felt a blow to my back, and the sound of several somethings cracking excruciatingly. Involuntarily, my body lurched forward, but I managed to get back in a straight position, gasping heavily.

A leering Zetsu leaped at me, and I tried to kick it in the chest, but my upper body was aching badly. It felt like my spinal cord had been chopped up. Quickly, I threw my last shruiken at his face, and it got him in between the eyes. But, it'd taken me so long – I was surrounded by at least five Zetsu now. I leaned over, grasping my stomach as my breaths came out in short, little pants. It felt as if my back had been snapped in half.

_The pain. _It was almost unbearable. It felt like my entire back was splitting, like I'd been flayed by a whip or something. I groaned as the pain worsened.

"Sai! Get the girl!" one of the cloaked voices said.

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei!" whoever Sai was replied; I couldn't look up to see who Kakashi or Sai were.

Harsh laughter filled the air as the Zetsu came closer to me. Some were knocked down by the other ninja, but I couldn't see much with my eyes on the ground. My eyesight began to grow hazy, and I felt the agonizing pain growing by the minute. I was too weak to scream now.

But, I had to try. The Zetsu were getting closer. I might die.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu." I whispered feebly, my hands fumbling through the hand seal.

I was in pain, but had managed to pull up the remainder of my chakra, as small as it was. My clones were not as plentiful as I had hoped for – only about twenty, but that was good enough. They ran forward to the oncoming Zetsu, and as the Zetsu fought against them, they exploded.

Smiling weakly, I felt relief wash over me. I'd used Itachi's Shadow Clone Technique, which made the clones blow up at the first touch with another person. The jutsu had come with a price though, a price I'd usually have no problem paying, but today, it'd taken away all my chakra.

_All of my chakra. _This had never happened before, not even in any of Itachi's pretend scenarios. Why? Because I was always taught never to use up all of my chakra. Whoops.

I was about to lie down on the ground and close my eyes, putting the matter into the Hidden Leaf ninjas' hands. It'd be alright now. Those thoughts of serenity were smashed in a second as I felt hard, cruel hands jerk me up.

Cold flesh rubbed against my skin, and I didn't have to turn around to know who it was. The Zetsu dragged me to a tree with a kunai at my throat. I was too weak to fight, and my struggles were nothing to the Zetsu. He had both of my arms behind my back with one hand, and used the other hand to hold me in a slight chokehold with the kunai at my neck.

My back was searing now; it felt like someone was throwing boulders at my back. Tears welled up in my eyes, but refused to spill because if I cried, it would hurt even more. I had to stay strong.

"Let her go." The blonde boy said, landing on the ground in front of the tree.

The dog and his boy, as well as the pale, black haired boy flanked him on both sides.

"No." Zetsu replied, smiling his sugar grin.

I groaned as he pulled me closer to him, twisting my arms even harder. I didn't like the pain, but the closeness to this monster revolted me, too.

The black haired boy stepped forward, his sword already drawn, but stopped as Zetsu shook his head disapprovingly. Zetsu brought the kunai closer to my throat, and I could feel the cool blade against my sweaty skin. I stopped breathing, and all I could feel was pain and fear.

"Not this time, ninjas. This time, Zetsu wins. Zetsu gets the pretty girl."

If I had not been so close to death and as exhausted, I would've laughed myself all the way to the Afterlife, or just killed the Zetsu on the spot. But, I couldn't because of the dire circumstances.

My skin prickled as the Zetsu lowered his head, rubbing it against my neck. I squirmed, disgusted.

"Stop. Get your hands off… me." I said, my hoarse voice just a notch above a whisper.

Zetsu only laughed, and to my horror, he let go of my arms, and instead wrapped one arm around my waist. I curved my arms and was about to shove both elbows into his sides, but the kunai pressed deeper into my skin, drawing a thin line. A small trickle of blood streamed down the side of my neck, but it was nothing compared to my back.

"Good bye now, boys." Zetsu said, winking.

I could hear strange noises as Zetsu began to merge into the tree. It was going to be all over now. The cloaked ninja stared at me in helpless terror, frozen to the spot. Then, there was a flash of gray hair, and strangled cries of jutsus being performed and Zetsu screaming.

I felt myself being torn away from the Zetsu's grip as the gray haired ninja leapt down from the trees. The side of Zetsu's head had three kunai lodged into it already, all thrown by the gray haired ninja.

And then, he was at my side in an instant. The ninja scooped me up quickly, easing me into his arms. They were firm and wiry but gentle.

"Naruto! Rasnegan!" He yelled, and Naruto gave one to the Zetsu through his chest.

The Zetsu collapsed, and that was when we realized that more were coming from the trees. Fresh, new Zetsu.

"Sai! We need something to bring that one back! Kiba, Naruto, defend Sai and take the Zetsu when he's done containing it!" The gray haired ninja ordered.

He was yelling, but he had a calm and collected way of doing it. That puzzled me. Why did they all look so calm in this situation? And what were they going to do?

The black haired ninja, Sai, took out a scroll, unrolling it through the air with a flourish. Naruto and Kiba, as well as Kiba's dog stood around Sai as he drew in confident strokes across the scroll. I watched as he did a sealing spell that sucked in the Zetsu. He rolled that scroll up, and took out three others and began to draw large birds.

Meanwhile, the gray haired ninja had set up almost a hundred shadow clones. They fought in close combat with the Zetsu emerging from the trees, slicing the white bodies with kunai.

"Kakashi-sensei!" A voice called out from behind us.

Sai was done with his three birds, which I realized would be our ticket out of here. Naruto and Kiba were on one, with a scroll that held the Zetsu, while Sai had a bird all to himself. The Zetsu from that side were running towards the birds as Kakashi ran swiftly to the third. He jumped onto it, and I expected to have my back explode in pain and fire, but there was only a small jolt of pain as he landed softly.

We took the air gracefully, and in no time the forest was deep below us. I was sitting up, with Kakashi supporting me from behind. If he hadn't placed a firm hand on me, I would've rolled off the bird from the moment we'd lifted off the ground.

"Are you in a lot of pain?" he asked, an edge of worry in his calm voice.

"A…little." I answered feebly, but my strained voice gave it all away.

I then made the mistake of looking down below. Really, I hadn't mean to, but I was incapable of controlling my body and felt like a piece of noodle. A noodle in a lot of pain. The trees swirled in whirls of green under me, and it felt like everything was spinning. I was overcome by a nauseous feeling of lightheadedness.

"Keep your eyes ahead," Kakashi said firmly.

"We're going to get to the village in just a bit. Just hold on, okay?" he said, still sounding composed and nonchalant.

I nodded weakly, wondering how he didn't sound a bit scared or angry. Suddenly, a jolt of sharp pain bolted up my back, like electricity. It felt as if someone had taken a cold, icy shruiken and stabbed me with it, again and again. That was when the sky dipped, and then the darkness took over as I succumbed to the never ending pain.


	9. Chapter 8

_Chapter Eight ~ _Waking Up

I awoke in a small, dark room.

_How cliché, _I thought to myself. _This is how people always wake up after they regain consciousness from a fight or whatever heroic thing they did. _

I bolted upright immediately, shock sizzling through my skin like surges of electricity. Flashes of the fight with the Zetsus in the woods came back to me like a flood, gushing through my mind so fast I had no time to ponder or make sense of what had happened.

No, that wasn't right; I already knew what had happened, and it made sense. A little. But I just couldn't believe it.

"I must be in the Hidden Leaf." I said quietly to myself.

Peeking underneath the blanket, I held my breath to see how badly I was injured. My right leg was wrapped with sarashi at the ankle, and on the upper thigh of my left leg. I don't remember getting hurt there, but maybe it was just because the pain in my back was far more superior at the time. My fingers were also bandaged, as well as my wrists.

Cautiously, I stretched, and smiled at the soreness in my legs. They ached in a numb way, not throbbing or burning.

Then, a ray of sunlight flashed through the darkness, the reeds making a rushing sound as the door slid to the side. I squinted at the sudden brightness, allowing my eyes to adjust slowly. Several figures stood in the doorway, all of them obviously taller and older than me. It wasn't one of my proudest things, being only five feet and one inch tall.

"She's awake." A man with a headband and gray clothes said.

What was I supposed to be, dead?

"Yamato, she can hear us. You can't just talk like that." The woman with short black hair and a soft voice scolded.

"Aish, quiet you two." Said a second lady.

She stood in the middle of the group, but a little to the front. Her boldness and confident aura identified her as the leader. Her blonde hair was straight to the shoulders, and she had on a green robe-like garment. I also noticed that her boobs were exceptionally large, but I did not stare at them.

I wouldn't want this lady to get angry at me for looking at her jugs instead of her face. What if she went and decapitated me or something then?

_Aish, Miette; stop thinking about decapitation so much. _

That was another thing about me – I am obsessed with decapitation. It's not like I'm some deranged serial murder ninja that goes around lopping peoples' heads off; I just like the word.

"How are you feeling?" the blonde lady said.

Her voice was not soft and naïve-sounding, but more like gentle but sharp.

"I'm better now." I said warily.

"Good, you can answer our questions then. Shuizune, Yamato, leave us." The lady ordered.

I looked at the two others as they left the room quietly, searching for any signs in body language that might suggest what this lady intended to do with me next. She did say she was going to ask me questions, but what if she killed me after?

"Gods, I'm not going to hurt you. You look like a terrified cat, girl." The lady said, shaking her head at me.

I hadn't realized that I must have looked scared and freaked out.

"Where am I?" I asked slowly.

"The Hidden Leaf Village." The lady answered.

My face must have betrayed me again, because this time the lady sat down and stared at me curiously.

"You seem very shocked. Which village are you from?"

"I…I don't have a village." I said, but I was distracted.

That boy had indeed been Naruto Uzumaki, the Nine Tails Jinjuriki. The fact that he'd been best friends with the brother, and murderer, of Itachi-sensei made my head hurt.

"Oh really now?" the lady said, her voice tensing.

I nodded, looking her in the eye. She did not seem cruel to me, and it was useless to keep quiet anyhow. It wasn't like I was a spy anyways, so I decided to tell her. Maybe when I was done, she'd let me go immediately. Slowly, I began to explain how that fight in the woods came to be, cautiously picking out the details of my life that no one but I and Itachi-sensei knew about.

"I used to live in a village, but then something terrible happened when I was five years old. Then, I lived in a part of the forest by the Hidden Leaf. Yesterday, I was attacked by the white Zetsu, and almost died, if not for the white-cloaked ninja from your village that came and saved me. I owe them my thanks."

"And how did you know those ninja were from the Leaf?" the lady asked inquisitively.

"Their headbands…and the blonde boy in the orange. He's Naruto Uzumaki, isn't he? The Nine Tails Jinjuriki?" my voice was quieter when I said his name, and I didn't know why. Was it because of the power in him?

"Yes, you're right. But there's more to it, isn't there?" she sounded curious, not like she was trying to suck out every bit of my life story out of me.

"It's not important." Was my reply.

The lady smiled, standing up, and motioned for me to follow her as she slid open the door.

"How old are you?" she asked as I stood up and walked towards her.

"I'm fifteen."

"And your name?"

"Miette Hoshikarasu."

"Hoshikarasu?" she raised her eyebrows.

"That's a name I made up. I'd rather not say my real last name."

"Hmm, fine, Miette Hoshikarasu," we were walking down a hallway now, and entered a room with a desk cluttered with papers and a window behind with the view of the four kages in stone; "I have a deal to make with you."

"A deal?" I was caught totally off guard.

_What could these people possibly want with me? _

"Yes, a deal, don't make me repeat myself twice!" she said as she sat down at the desk, leaning back into the chair.

"What is this deal that you are proposing?" I asked wearily; too many things were happening, one right after another, and in _such _as short amount of time.

"This world has become more dangerous, but I'm sure you know that. The Akatsuki are raiding more constantly, killing more. They're not targeting just one or two villages, but rather every one. There is also speak of an Akatsuki member named Madara Uchiha, who also goes by Tobi." She paused, and stared at me to see what I would make of this.

All this was nothing new, and I'd found out all on my own not too long ago.

"He wears an orange mask." I put in happily, mentally slapping myself for how childish I must have sounded.

Who even gave a shit for what color Tobi's mask was?

But, the lady did not give me any weird looks. Instead, she just continued.

"I fear that there will be many bad things to happen. There is no doubt that our village may be attacked, especially with Naruto's being here. We are also sending out many teams with missions, and they are all vulnerable to attacks because of the danger they put themselves in. From what I've heard, you fought well against the Zetsus. You had been stalling them for quite some time before the boys got there."

"I-"

Blonde lady interrupted me, holding up a hand.

"I would like you to become a part of the Hidden Leaf and help us. We could use people with skill like yours, and you knew about what these Zetsu creatures were, I think. In return, we name you a resident of the Hidden Leaf, and provide housing for you."

I gawked at her in awe. That was not what I'd expected. I was thinking the deal would be to reveal all I knew about the Akatsuki, or go on a mission to kill Zetsus or something.

"Live in the Hidden Leaf?" I asked, my voice high with surprise.

"Yes, you don't have a home, do you, Miette?"

I could only shake my head, unable to find any words.

"Good, it's all settled then. I will have someone show you around, and where you'll be living. And, I have no doubt that you'll make new friends and fit right in." the lady stood up, and I did, too.

As she opened the door to the room, I turned to her.

"Who are you?" I already had a clue, but I wasn't sure.

"Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage." She smiled, and I gave a little gasp.

_I'd been talking to the Hokage the entire time! _

"Ah, here he is," Tsunade said, looking ahead.

It was Naruto Uzumaki.

"Naruto, help Miette get around. And no funny business, you hear me?"

"Aye, Granny." He said, grinning at me.

"Good." She said, and turned back, her robes swirling in the air a bit as she walked back to her room.


End file.
